Both times Blake has beaten Rafa in best of 3 they were straight sets and both times Rafa beat him in has involved losing a set, so if it goes to three i don't like James' chances.

Rafa in 3.

serveandvolley80

10-06-2009, 05:26 PM

How is the speed of the surface there? That i believe is the biggest factor.

SheepleBuster

10-06-2009, 05:28 PM

Nadal wins 6-0, 6-1

DartMarcus

10-06-2009, 06:13 PM

Nadul in 3 easy sets, sth like 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Certinfy

10-06-2009, 06:15 PM

Blake in 3.

MalwareDie

10-06-2009, 07:33 PM

Blake is useless.

Bilbo

10-06-2009, 07:37 PM

R. Nadal in 2

madmax

10-06-2009, 07:45 PM

Blake should take this, Nadull is in horrible and this is hard.

Hellraiser

10-06-2009, 07:51 PM

Maybe win over Nadal will be turnover for James. :worship:

Sinerra

10-06-2009, 07:53 PM

It will be 3 sets...

And Nadal will win.

Sunset of Age

10-06-2009, 07:55 PM

Even if Rafa is still rusty after his injury break, I don't see him losing to Blake here, as Blake even had trouble winning against Mayer.

Nadal in two or three.

born_on_clay

10-06-2009, 08:01 PM

Rafa in 2

Okonsky

10-06-2009, 08:21 PM

Nadal in 2

Geo

10-06-2009, 09:07 PM

:spit: Blake is nowhere near the level he was at when he was beating Nadal, so I think Rafa will win this in straights. Something like 6-4 6-3 :shrug:

SheepleBuster

10-06-2009, 10:07 PM

Blake can't freaking win 2 straight matches. He is done, over, finito. Heck, he lost to Karlovic on clay being up I think 2 sets to love or something. He single handedly beat the US davis cup team by losing all his matches. Rafa will crush him like a banana.

straitup

10-06-2009, 10:20 PM

I would think this would be an easy match for Rafa given James' form...but these kinds of matches can really bring out the best in a guy like James. I think it'll go 3 sets to Rafa, but James winning is a possibility.

Of course I could be way off

Corey Feldman

10-06-2009, 11:28 PM

Blake 2005/2006 = easy

this Blake = no chance

Bascule

10-06-2009, 11:43 PM

:spit: Blake is nowhere near the level he was at when he was beating Nadal, so I think Rafa will win this in straights. Something like 6-4 6-3 :shrug:

Right, but neither is Rafa. So, Rafa in three.

Vida

10-07-2009, 12:09 AM

Blake 2005/2006 = easy

this Blake = no chance

all three matches Blake won were against puppy Nadal in 05 and 06. fat chance that Blake would've won against 08, early 09 Nadal.

Clay Death

10-07-2009, 12:44 AM

Right, but neither is Rafa. So, Rafa in three.

a reasonable post at last. i said it would take 3 sets to get rid of the baggy man as well and the baggy man is ranked #84.

this one could be close. clay monster will probably need 3 sets to get rid of blake as well and its still not a given considering his weak form at the moment.

he just has no rhythm off the ground. the fluid movement is not there and he is not stinging the ball at the moment.

blake will have his chances.

http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz47/claydeath/sparta4.jpg

FlameOn

10-07-2009, 12:47 AM

Blake in 3. :p

guga2120

10-07-2009, 01:10 AM

No way Rafa, is winning this tournament, especially with Novak, on the other side, but he should beat Blake, easily in 2.

phelbyn

10-07-2009, 01:13 AM

Could be close.... I doubt anybody expected as close a match with Baghdatis.

Could be a fun one!

8pNADAL

10-07-2009, 01:20 AM

Blake should take this, Nadull is in horrible and this is hard.

blake is even worse on hardcourt than nadal, in fact thats an understatement, blake couldnt even win the australian open or reach semis of us

moon language

10-07-2009, 02:49 AM

No way Rafa, is winning this tournament, especially with Novak, on the other side, but he should beat Blake, easily in 2.

What is, the deal, with all the, commas?

Topspin Forehand

10-07-2009, 04:16 AM

Rafa in straight sets. Vamos!

Clay Death

10-07-2009, 04:41 AM

Rafa in straight sets. Vamos!

hopefully he doesnt have to linger out there for nearly 3 hours to get rid of blake but it could happen. it took him well over 2 hours to get rid of the baggy man.

i say clay monster in 3 and i say that it wont be easy for obvious reasons. he just doesnt have his fluid movement and his stinging ground game at the moment. it will take some time.

I think Blake would like to make a statement about his form (which has been miserable this year), so this is probably going to be a lot closer than people think.

Generically, at his best, he matches up really well against even an inform Nadal on hards and at least used to have the capacity to really blow him off the court (picture what DP did to Nadal, with the caveat that Blake can actually run). The problem is when he plays badly, he can singlehandedly beat himself and lose to even a mediocre player.

In the old days, Nadal couldn't touch Blake's service games and was quickly exited by Blakes powerful flat balls that were too penetrating to defend against. Meanwhile Blake actually returned Nadal well and could punish his second serves with outright winners.

The last time they played, Blake was never in the match and despite being in control of most of the points, was wiffing badly.

DUN I LOVE

10-07-2009, 09:15 AM

Heart says James.

But i think Rafa will win it in 3.

pray-for-palestine-and-israel

10-07-2009, 12:22 PM

Nadal has a chance to "fix" the H2H

rocketassist

10-07-2009, 01:23 PM

all three matches Blake won were against puppy Nadal in 05 and 06. fat chance that Blake would've won against 08, early 09 Nadal.

No.

Nadal has always been the same player at full fitness except on grass where he raised it.

Tsongation

10-07-2009, 02:36 PM

Blake's form is STILL terrible ... Nadal all the way

Topspin Forehand

10-07-2009, 03:39 PM

No.

Nadal has always been the same player at full fitness except on grass where he raised it.
Ridiculous. Nadal is definitely a much better hard court player now than 3 years ago. Vamos!

ad-out

10-07-2009, 03:46 PM

I hope Rafa wins.. I really want to see Marat/Rafa in the QFs!

nsidhan

10-07-2009, 05:09 PM

No way Blake is winning this one! He beat Rafa when Rafa was not the Rafa of present.

moon language

10-07-2009, 05:40 PM

Blake always has a shot against Nadal on hardcourt if he catches fire, but odds are on Nadal.

Clay Death

10-07-2009, 05:46 PM

Blake always has a shot against Nadal on hardcourt if he catches fire, but odds are on Nadal.

its a tough call at the moment. blake is not blake but the clay monster is far removed from his top form and his top fitness.

not having sufficient practice and match play also leaves one a little short on confidence and he himself has said that also.